Letter: Paul Robeson never attended the Flemington Choir School

To the editor:
I am writing to you to correct a mistake in the Tricentennial calendar. Under the date Feb.
22, 2014 it states "Paul Robeson took voice lessons at the Flemington Choir School," but that
is incorrect.

In 1895, Miss Bessie Vosseller and Miss Bessie Hopewell formed a quartet of four little
girls from the Flemington Presbyterian Church and taught them the elements of group
singing. From this beginning, came the Flemington Choir School. In 1909, Vosseller
became the head of the Music Department of the Somerville school system. She
remained in that position for 10 years, commuting from Flemington to Somerville each school
day.

While at Somerville, a bright young black student attracted Voseller's attention.
Vosseller. He was Paul Robeson, the son of a black minister. Vosseller devoted special
attention to him and he, with her early training, became one of America's great soloists and
actors.

In 1938, Paul Robeson came to Flemington to visit Vosseller. He presented her
with a copy of his biography with the following quote on the fly leaf: "To Miss Vosseller my
first teacher and the first to take my voice seriously. Deepest thanks for the introduction to the
'great music of the ages' in my high school days and the happy years in the glee club. The best of good fortune. Paul Robeson December 1938."

I believe this book is located in the Hunterdon County Historical Society's collection. Paul Robeson never attended the Flemington Choir School. Glenn Hooper Historian Flemington Presbyterian Church.